Is this normal behaviour in supermarkets now?

[Makeitgoaway]

Until now we've been making do with what we had plus deliveries from small local firms but had to bite the bullet and DH did a big supermarket trip yesterday.

There's a particular nut he's very fond of which appeared to be out of stock, but he was pleased to find the last two packets at the back of the shelf, just as he realised a couple nearby were looking for the same thing, so he offered them one of the packs. Apparently they declined in horror at the idea of taking something he'd handled.

He was happy, he got his 2 packs, but how do they think they got onto the shelf without anyone touching them? Were they particularly cautious or is everyone thinking like this now?. He thought he was being polite/helpful but they obviously didn't see it that way. The new rules are one thing but how long until we all get used to the new etiquette? Or even agree on what it is?!

I came home from my last shopping trip with blocks of cheese because I kept picking one up, finding one I liked better but then keeping them all because I'd touched them. I'm struggling with the need to rush through the weekly shop (because of the queue) and have brought my shopping home and thought WTF??? Anyway.

When I went to the supermarket just after they announce lockdown. I was trying to pick up a trampoline (very essential) and was struggling a lovely girl offered to help so glad to say not everyone is scared of people

Surely gloves protect only the wearer. Providing they don’t touch their face.

Gloves are pointless

If they're pointless (if used correctly) then why do hospital staff wear them?

Surely gloves protect only the wearer

But if someone unknowingly has the virus, washes their hands, puts gloves on, and a mask, and then shops for someone else and has used the gloves/mask correctly. Aren't they protecting everyone else in the shop and the vulnerable person they're shopping for as well? I'm not saying there is no risk at all, but surely the risk of them passing on the virus via their hands, or face, would be reduced if the unknowingly infected person uses the gloves, and mask, correctly?

It isn't just about yourself, it's about the other people you come into contact with as well. Places like Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea?, where there was widespread use of masks and gloves more or less from the start, had lower rates of transmission

Gloves no. Mask yes.

So why do hospital staff wear gloves?

So why do hospital staff wear gloves?

So their skin doesn't come into direct contact with assorted bodily fluids. To reduce the risk of infection through any minor scrapes they might have.

The virus doesn't leak out through the skin of your hands so gloves won't stop it being transmitted unless they're clean. So in the case of this virus, clean hands are as much a guard as clean gloves.

So their skin doesn't come into direct contact with assorted bodily fluids. To reduce the risk of infection through any minor scrapes they might have.

But that was my point. If something works in hospitals then, if done correctly, it works everywhere else.

But that was my point. If something works in hospitals then, if done correctly, it works everywhere else.

proper protocol needs to be used re gloves or you are wasting your time - even staff in hospitals don't get it right all the time. My brother has come out of retirement (he was an NHS trainer) to retrain staff in proper use of gloves etc. So, without proper training I can't imagine that most random folk are doing it right.

If someone has gloves on but touches everything in the shop can they still spread the virus? I'm curious because I watched a guy go through all the herbs on the shelf and touched every single one of them.

What a lovely DH you have OP. I hate what this virus is doing to people. Common sense has gone completely out the window and I fear that for some it won’t return when this is over.

Why are people getting annoyed at others being cautious? It doesn’t affect you so let them crack on. Also, using gloves does work, you just have to use them correctly. Masks aren’t a bad idea either, it stops people’s spit flying at you if they cough etc. Staying the recommended distance away will help with that too but a mask doesn’t worsen anything. He shouldn’t have handed anything to them, if he was distancing properly he wouldn’t have been able to even try. He could set it back on the shelf and walk away. Pretty simple really. I haven’t even entered a supermarket for weeks but it doesn’t seem difficult to just not stand right next to someone or to avoid stretching your hand out to them.

PaytoLie have you ever thought maybe it was the other couple who weren’t distancing properly? I really hope that, once this is over, we can go back to not seeing the worst in everything, not spying on the neighbours and not being generally shit to other people.

This pandemic has brought out the best in some but the worst in many others. Or maybe they are just showing their true colours

If something works in hospitals then, if done correctly, it works everywhere else.

As per pp - it's assuming a lot that people will use them correctly. As it is, from this thread alone it seems people think gloves = good, bare hands = bad. The reality is clean = good, unwashed = bad.

@Flaxmeadow

Hospital staff change gloves between every patient. Do you change yours between every packet of cornflakes. Where do you dispose of them? Do you wheel a little bin around the supermarket with you?

I posted earlier but I just wanted to reiterate why, for me, they are very effective. I had my home made mask on and gloves out shopping earlier. I could feel my nose itching and the physical barriers made me very aware of NOT scratching my nose (the mask probably caused the bloody itching in the first place ). It was lovely to remove them and be able to scratch it when I got back to my car.

Why are people getting annoyed at others being cautious? It doesn’t affect you so let them crack on. Also, using gloves does work, you just have to use them correctly. Masks aren’t a bad idea either, it stops people’s spit flying at you if they cough etc.

Because so many are not using masks and/or gloves correctly. Firstly, it's giving them a false sense of security. Secondly, it's wasting PPE.

Gloves get worn at the wrong time, for too long, and aren't disposed of and changed frequently enough.

Masks just get worn badly. Might as well wear it as a talisman around you neck if you're not going to cover your mouth and nose, or if you're going to pull it down to speak to someone. And again, they need to be changed and disposed of regularly or they become just another surface.

People can be taught to use gloves and masks correctly. An NHS YouTube video for example or leaflet through the door

@Willow2017, do you work in retail? Under the new protocols an employer should be allowing a break for hand washing. In two of my DD's work, it's every half hour, if required. But sometimes when on the till they don't always break that often because it isn't deemed necessary. Bit they shouldn't be going from one task to another without hand washing happening.

I should be in the shielding group but i don't have anyone to shop for me, so i go out possibly twice a week. I'm sick of having to tell people to walk through doors and not hold them for me, or try to wave me onto the bus in front of them.

The list of people that i know whose died is growing, as is those seriously ill in hospital. I have a DD with LDs and Autism who can't live alone. It isn't ridiculous, some of us have to take this seriously.

So yes, this is the new norm, get your head around it and get over it.

I wouldn’t touch something someone had handled with bare hands.

But there's a pretty good chance that pretty much everything in the supermarket has been touched by the bare hands of somebody - packers, shelf stackers, customers without gloves.

I dont get why so many people are anti gloves for shopping. I put on a pair as I approach the trolleys. I do spray the trolley handles too. I do touch various items as I put them in my trolley, but then I would too if not wearing gloves. They protect me when I have to press the keys on the pay device, then when I get to the car, after putting shopping in the boot, I take them off. Then my car door handles and steering wheel does not get infected by anything. I dont see how any of that bothers anyone, and I've been protected as a result.

@PaytoLie I’m getting annoyed with people being cautious because of the disdainful way they look at you, like you’re out to get them...they’re there too, but this doesn’t seem to occur to them as they’re tutting, throwing dirty looks and acting coy.

If people approached it with kindness and light humour, it would be far easier to deal with the inevitable awkwardness of social distancing. We’re all dealing with it; we all want to get our shopping done safely and efficiently. Being passive aggressive is just unnecessary.

Nobody knows if they’re protected or not. I don’t wear a mask or gloves or wipe down/disinfect the shopping. We don’t quarantine the post. I do the shopping alone. I bring it in wash my hands, put it away, wash hands again. That feels enough to me.

Your DH acted totally reasonably.

But you can't blame some people for acting the way this couple did. The Government and the NHS have an interest in totally controlling people right now and they do this quite deliberately by stoking the FEAR FACTOR at every opportunity. Hence some people are overly fearful.

If someone offered me a bag of nuts I’d take them. I would not take them if they slobbered all over them, or wiped a big bogie on the bag. Nor would I take the bag and rub it all over my face, taking extra time to sniff and lick all the external surfaces.

... hope this helps.

Btw - has anyone found any bread yeast yet?